A lot of people are fascinated by horses. People flock to race tracks, fall fairs, polo matches, and horse shows just to see the horses. They’re fascinated by movies about horses and most of the people who watch Heartland, a television shows that features horses frequently have never been near a horse. Odd as it may sound, there are people out there that don’t like horses. And they’ve come to their dislike a number of ways.

Horses by Force
My son doesn’t particularly like horses. He likes animals in general but prefers things with gears and clutches. Part of his dislike probably has something to do with being born into a horsey family, where horses were discussed at every family gathering and being hauled around to various horse functions before he was old enough to say no. When hay needed moving, or other chores that horses spawned needed doing, he was recruited.

He’s always stayed good natured by the whole thing, but if he never saw a horse again, he’d be okay with that. Not so good-natured about the whole deal was the guy that writes the Oatmeal cartoon. After a childhood of mucking out horse pens, moving hay bales and dealing ornery nags has made him a horse hater. There’s a cautionary tale there. With a different horse history, maybe my son and other’s like him would love horses. You can’t force love.

Bad Experiences
There are other people who started out liking horses, but after a bad experience, have sworn never to go near one again. These include the people who go on vacations and get run away with on dude string horses. Or they get their foot stepped on, or perhaps bitten by some ill-mannered petting zoo pony. Sometimes the bad experience doesn’t even have to have happened to them. Just the sight of someone else falling off a horse, or being warned repeatedly to be careful around them can cause fear. You feel a bit sorry for these people because they started out fine. They don’t really dislike horses. They dislike pain. You can’t really blame them I guess.

Horses are Gross
Then there are squeamish. It’s really hard to empathize with these people. I had one woman tell me she didn’t like horses because “their poops are too big”. Or there are people who really value clean white shirts and manicured fingernails. What kind of life is that? And horses always pass gas when you pick up their back feet or brush their tail. Apparently, while the rest of us are giggling, these people are really revolted. Some think they smell bad. That’s a really hard one to understand, as I think they are one of the nicest smelling animals there are. I really love my dog, but I think my horse smells better. And they smell a lot better than a deer, or goat. Goats smell gross. Mix horse smell with nice clean leather and it doesn’t get much better. And then there are the things that tend to go with horses like mud and flies. Big deal, right?

There are people who think horses are too expensive. But expensive compared to what? Going out for dinner, designer handbags or trendy jeans? Or, expensive compared to sitting in front of the television or playing Candy Crush? Money may not buy happiness, but owning a horse comes close.

And believe it or not, there are people who think horses look scary. They’re big, have big teeth, big feet. Apparently, they have a defective eyesight and can’t see majesty and elegance or cuteness. I feel sorry for these people. I really do.

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